The Mark IV was the most important tank of WWI. The 'Mother' prototype was built in January 1916 and by October 1917 700 of the 1220 ordered were delivered to the tank corps in France. The first tank ever engaged in what might be a "classic" combat with another tank was a British On April 24, 1918, accompanied by two "female" tanks equipped with machine guns-it encountered the A7V tanks built by the Germans during the last months of the war. The British tank was victorious in this first tank duel but the German vehicle inflicted heavy damage on its two consorts. This experience persuaded the British makers to improve their equipment and many of the "female" tanks were fitted with adequate antitank guns.
MARK IV Legend has it that after completion, the tanks were shipped to France in large wooden crates. For secrecy and in order to not arouse any curiosity, the crates and the tanks themselves were then each labelled with a destination in Russian for Petrograd. In fact the tanks were never shipped in crates: the inscription in Russian was applied on the hull for their transport from the factory to the first training center at Thetford.
The first fifty had been delivered to France on 30 August. They were 'male' or 'female', depending upon whether their armament was the 57 mm gun (male) or only multiple smaller Hotchkiss or Vickers machine guns (female). The crew was eight, four of whom were needed to handle the steering and drive gears. The Mark IVs were only capable of 4 mph, matching the speed of marching infantry with whom they were to be integrated to aid in the destruction of enemy machine guns.
WOW!
